Go Fish
Seafood dishes that won’t wreck the planet or your health By Rob Mifsud
Dwindling fish stocks in warming polluted waters have even die-hard piscivores flirting with veganism. It’s no longer enough to avoid Chilean sea bass or monkfish; diners of a righteous bent must now consider not only the species, but also how and where their meal was raised and caught. Was the swordfish harpoon or long-line caught? How much mercury will be served along with that tuna? We trawled the city to find five spectacular yet sustainable dishes.
The dish: Squishy, slippery, chilled jellyfish salad. Its texture takes some getting used to, but sesame oil adds an addictive nutty taste. ($7)
The green light: Overfishing has killed off predators, creating a jellyfish population boom. There are too many of them now.
Asian Legend, 418 Dundas St. W., 416-977-3909
The dish: Silky sablefish with pork belly, mushroom consommé and wild leek mignonette. ($14)
The green light: Chef Dan DeMatteis avoids destructively bottom-trawled fish, sourcing trap- and long-line-caught varieties from Alaska and B.C.
Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar, 9 Church St., 416-362-1957
The dish: Rainbow trout with chicory, bacon and kidney beans. ($27)
The green light: None of the dish’s primary ingredients travel more than 100 kilometres. Trout farms, especially inland ones like Cedar Crest, near Hanover, present little threat to wild populations.
Silver Spoon, 390 Roncesvalles Ave., 416-516-8112
The dish: Raw oysters—the most straightforward way to savour the briny deep. (Market price)
The green light: Oysters clean the waters they inhabit, so most oyster farms (which now produce 95 per cent of the world’s catch) actually improve the ocean’s health.
Starfish, 100 Adelaide St. E., 416-366-7827
The dish: Delicate Dungeness crab with cherry tomatoes, dashi and cucumber foam. ($17)
The green light: Oh, to be a female crab! Only mature male crabs that meet size requirements are caught, and fishers wait till after mating season to go crabbing.
C5, 100 Queen’s Park, 416-586-7928
Photography by Ryan Szulc
Related:
• Toronto’s Meat Revolution: Now meat eaters can be just as smug as vegetarians
• Catch-22: Why it’s easier to find tilapia in Toronto than Lake Ontario perch
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